Drawer construction



United States Patent 113,54

[72] Inventor Louis E.Himelreich [56] References Cited [21] A IN ggg jg g UNITED STATES PATENTS Filed Dec l71968 2,488,916 11/1949 Johnson 3l2/330X 3,097,901 7/1963 Schless 312/330 [45] Patented Nov.24,1970

. 3,377,115 4/1968 Hansen etal. 312/330 [73] Asslgnee l-l.J.Schelr|chCompany 3408 127 l 0/1968 Vmcens 312/204X Loulsvllle, Kentucky 3 462 20 8 acorporafion Kentucky 8 /1969 Black et a1. 3l2/330X Primary Examiner-Jordan Franklin Assistant Examiner-George V. Larkin DRAWER goNsTkgcTloN Attorney-William E. Sherwood 6Claims,7 rawing igs.

[52] U.S.Cl 312/330, 217/l2:220/4:3l2/204 [51] lnt.Cl ..A47b88/00 TRACT: A drawer having a preformed body portion [50] Field of Search 312/330, detachably locked to a drawer front which furnishes the from 204; 21 l/lnq; 220/4; 217/2, 12 wall for the assembled drawer.

Patented Nov. 24, 197G Sheet 1 of3 INVENTOR LOLHS Em MMELREBCH ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 24, 1970 3,542,471

INVENT OR LOU\S E. WMEL'REECH ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 24, 1970 $542,447

INVENTOR LOUlS E. HEMELREICH ATTORNEY DRAWER consrnucrrow BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In current practices of home decoration much attention is paid to the appearance of drawer fronts, particularly in the i or the like of drawerscan. be easily modified, as when redecoration is intended. In general, conventional molded plastic drawer bodies, as exemplified by the U.S. Pats. to

Schless No. 3,097,901; Gustafson et al. No. 3,112,969 and Himelreich No. 3,273,952, have an'integral front wall portion to which a separate drawer front is affixed by adhesive, bolting or the like. Such drawer fronts, however, are usually installed at the factory, are not intended to be replaced at a future time, and are not expected to serve as the front wall ofthe drawer itself.

By contrast, drawers embodying this invention make possible economies infmanufacture and marketing not found in drawers of the conventional type and in addition have the further appeal of permitting a change in decoration of kitchens or the like merely by a simple substitution of one drawer front for another.

SUMMARY manner and without requiring special tools or skills. The

16 will, of course, be chosen so as tocooperate with the particular configuration of the'recess and in its broader aspects drawer body preferably includes means integral therewith for mounting of the drawer on a supporting structure and such means serves to reinforce and give rigidity to the drawer.

Among the objects of theinvention are the provision of an improved drawer having interchangeable fronts; a drawer requiring no front wall as part of the drawer body; a drawer body suitable for shipment and storage in nested condition; and a drawer. body having integral lips adapted for ieady engagement in and disengagement from a recess within a drawer front. I

These and other objectives of the invention will become more apparent as the description proceeds and when considered in conjunction with the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view showing the essential elements of the present drawer construction.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view to a larger scale taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and showing the drawer front and drawer body in asy sembled relation.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 and taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a front end elevation of a drawer body embodying the invention and equipped with one form of drawer supporting means. i r

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the drawer body shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of the drawer body of FIG. 4, and

FIG. 7 is a rear elevation of the drawer body of FIG. 4.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a molded drawer body, which conveniently may be formed of a high-impact styrene material, has a bottom portion 10, integrally joined to a rear wall portion 11 and to first and second sidewall portions 12, 13. Projecting from the front edge of the bottom is an elongated lip 14 and projecting from the front edges of the sidewalls are lips 15,16 and with the respective ends of the bottom lip being spaced therefrom.

A drawer front 20 of generally rectangular shape has a flat inner surface which serves to form the front wall for the drawer body when the parts are assembled, and in this surface an undercut locking recess is formed in any suitable manner, as by a conventional routing means. This recess which is continuous comprises a central portion 21 joined to first and second end portions 22, 23 of the recess. Referring now to FIGS. 2 to 5, the particular configuration of the lips 14, 15 and the invention is not Iimite'd to the T-shaped cross section of the recess as herein shown. It will be understood, moreover, that the lips comprise deformable material and are located at the open end of the drawer body wherein they are capable of a limited amountof flexing action.

'In assembling the drawer, the drawer front is first inclined so as to engage the bottom lip 14 in the lower space 24 of the central portion of recess 21. This bottom lip, moreover, has an upper slanted portion 25 aiding in theinsertion of the lip into the recess, as well as a stepped lower portion 26 adapted to abut the inner surfaces of that recess. As will be noted, the edge 27.of the slanted portion is disposed inwardly of the recess so that no crack is present at the junction 28 of the bottom of the drawer body and the inner surface of the-front member. With the drawer front then returned to a plane normal to the bottom ofthe drawer body, the respective parts are then engaged as shown best in FIG. 2. During this procedure the lip 15 of the sidewall 12 is flexed and inserted within the end portion 22 'of the recess and when released this lip is snugly engaged within the recess as best seen in FIG. 3, leaving an open space between the confronting edge 30 of the recess and the side of that face of the wall 12 which is opposite the wall face from which lip 15 projects. As a feature ofthe inventiori, a locking member-31 which preferably is of a plastic resilient material, such as vinyl, is employed to close this described open'space and to frictionally hold the drawer front and the-drawer body in operative relation to each other. The configuration of the member 31 may take various forms and normally it will have a length sufficient to completely close the end portion 22 of the recess not occupied by the sidewall 12 as well as the portion of that recess corresponding to the space 32 (FIG. 4) between adjacent ends of lip 14 and lip 15. The configuration, moreover, may employ a portion 33 of the locking member adapted to lodge within a groove 34 found in the surface of wall 12 as seen in FIG. 3.

The insertion or removal of the locking member may be accomplished manually without requiring special tools or skill. In like manner, the fixing of the corresponding lip 16 in the end portion 23 of the recess employs a companion locking member 35 having a length sufficient to close that portion of the recess corresponding to the space 36 between adjacent ends of lip 14 and lip 16. When the four elements of the combination, as seen in FIG. 1, are thus assembled a sturdy, rigid drawer results and with the drawer front serving as the front wall for that drawer.

The assembled drawer may be mounted for use with any conventional supporting structure without departing from the invention. However, it is preferred to employ the drawer with an'improved cabinet of the type more fully disclosed in my copending US: Pat. application, Ser. No. 797,976, filed Feb. 10,1969, and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. This preferred form of drawer embodies rails 4-0, 41 integrally molded with the above described drawer body and extending lengthwise of the sidewalls 12, 13 adjacent the upper edges of those walls and adapted to cooperate with rollers (not shown) mounted upon a supporting structure such as a cabinet. A reinforcing beam 42 integrally molded with the baekwall 11 joins the rear ends of these rails and a web 43 integrally molded with the backwall joins the beam at a central portion of such beam. The described rails and beam provide strength to the plastic drawer body and permit relatively thin bottom, sidewall, and backwall thicknesses, for example about 0.125 inch, to be employed without resulting in a weak drawer body. As will be noted in FIG. 5, the forward ends of the rails terminate rearwardly of'lips 15, 16 a. sufficient distance to permit the flexing necessary to insert those lips within the recess of the drawer front.

The drawers as described may be adapted for support upon a guide of the type disclosed in Himelreich U.S. Pat. No. 2,948,578 and in such case an upwardly extending support bracket 44 integrally molded with beam 42 and adapted to mount a roller (not shown) at the longitudinal center line of the drawer body, may be employed. Alternately, such a support bracket for mounting a roller cooperating with a guide beneath, rather than above, the drawer body may be employed.

As will now be apparent, various practical advantages of the invention are present. The drawer fronts and drawer bodies, each of which are nestable, may be shipped from the factory to a distributor. The purchaser may select from a variety of decorated drawer fronts any one of which will fit a standard sized body. The drawer assembly may be completed at the actual point of use of the drawer. If the user desires to change drawer fronts at a future time, such may be accomplished simply and rapidly. Furthermore, the drawer front serves as the front wall of the drawer and a less expensive drawer may be made since in contrast with conventional drawers, less material for the drawer body is required.

In view of the above disclosure, it will be noted that the several objectives of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results obtained.

lclaim:

l. A drawer comprising in combination, a drawer body and a separate, generally rectangular drawer front having a substantially flat inner surface forming a front wall of the assembled drawer, said front having an undercut locking recess formed therein adjacent the side and bottom edges thereof, said body comprising a bottom having at its front edge an integral lip detachably engageable within the central portion of said recess, first and second sidewalls having integral lips at their front edges detachably engageable within the respective end portions of said recess, said sidewall lips being spaced from the adjacent ends of said bottom lip, said body having a backwall joined to said sidewalls and to said bottom, and a pair of locking members extending into said recess and frictionally held between the confronting edges of said recess and the faces of the respective sidewalls opposite the lips of the same, said members in cooperation with said lips engaged within said recess serving to detachably secure said front to said body.

2. A drawer as defined in claim 1 wherein said drawer body comprises molded plastic.

3. A drawer as defined in claim 1 wherein said locking members comprise resilient material having a configuration disposing a portion of the locking member within the undercut portion ofsaid recess when said drawer is fully assembled.

4. A drawer as defined in claim 3 wherein the configuration of said locking member causes said member to occupy substantially the entire open space between said bottom lip and the adjacent sidewall lip when said drawer is fully assembled.

5. A drawer comprising in combination, a reinforced drawer body formed of plastic and a separate, generally rectangular drawer front having a substantially flat inner surface forming the front wall of the assembled drawer, said front having an undercut locking recess formed therein adjacent the side and bottom edge thereof, said body comprising a bottom having at its front edge an integral lip detachably engageable within the central portion of said recess, first and second sidewalls having integral lips at their front edges detachably engageable within the respective end portions of said recess, said sidewall lips being spaced from the adjacent ends of said bottom lip, said body having a backwall joined to said sidewalls and to said bottom, a pair of rails extending longitudinally of said sidewalls and a beam extending transversely of said backwall, said rails and beam being joined to each other integrally with the respective sidewalls and backwall and serving as reinforcement for the drawer body, said rails being located externally of said side walls and serving as a means for mounting of the drawer upon a supporting structure, and a pair of locking members, extending into said recess and frictionally held between the confronting edges of said recess and the faces of the respective sidewalls opposite the lips of the same.

6. A drawer as defined in claim 5 including a bracket integrally formed with said beam intermediate the ends of said beam and serving as a means for mounting of the drawer upon a supporting structure. 

